HUGE WIN! Canadian government agrees to ban unpaid internships in federal sector

It’s budget day and we very pleased to say we have a positive announcement for the Canadian Intern Association. The Government of Canada has agreed to ban unpaid internships in federally regulated sectors, unless the internship is part a school program. We have been lobbying for this amendment to the Canada Labour Code since 2013, and are glad to see that this amendment will finally be adopted.

We consider this to be a positive first step in the regulation of unpaid internships in Canada. Here is the relevant excerpt from p. 64 of the 2017 Federal Budget:

While federal sector unpaid internships make up a small percentage of unpaid internships in Canada (most are provincially regulated), this amendment will prohibit unpaid internships outside of school programs from some of Canada’s most profitable companies in the banking, telecommunications, and transport sectors.